Phil Mickelson wants victory over Tiger Woods so that he can "rub it in" whenever he sees his rival, ahead of their winner-takes-all match in Las Vegas on Friday.

And to up the stakes, the pair have even made a side bet, worth a cool $200,000.

Organisers had attempted to rustle up friction at a news conference by engaging the two players in a boxing-style face-off.

But hostilities failed to break out, with the old adversaries exchanging few barbs before resorting to mutual praise for one another.

There was little evidence of what was formerly a tense relationship between the two from the days when Woods dominated his rival with eight major victories before Mickelson landed his first in 2004.

Woods and Mickelson were more ready to exchange praise than barbs in Las Vegas (Image: USA TODAY Sports)

Mickelson, who is six years Woods' senior, has since racked up five wins in major competitions, still some way short of the 14 recorded by his rival in Las Vegas.

"I just don't want to lose to him and give him the satisfaction because the bragging rights are going to be even worse than the money," Mickelson told a press conference.

"Every time I see you I want to be able to rub it in. I want to sit in the champions' locker room at Augusta and talk smack. I want that."

The match will be closed to live spectators, instead both players will be fitted with microphones and the action broadcast to pay-per-view subscribers in the US.

Mickelson has a side bet with Woods that he will birdie the first hole (Image: REUTERS)

The game will be worth $9m to the winner and is due to get under way at Shadow Creek Golf Club on Friday, with Mickelson claiming to have made a $200,000 side bet with Woods that he will birdie the first hole.

"This event is designed to be a unique experience for the golf viewer, to create a production from drone coverage to on-screen gambling, to live mics and interaction," said Mickelson.

"It's an insight into the game which you're normally not able to see. It's why it's on pay-per-view, because we had to eliminate the commercials to have that insight in between the shots."